Mark Your Calendars: Rockage 4.0 February 6-8th!

One of my favorite events Downtown combines both retro video games and live music with local bands. Spread across three days, there will be over 30 indie rock bands, chiptune artists and DJs, and 50 rare classic cabinets and pinball machines, and tons of classic game vendors. New this year will be a third stage and a partership with MAGFest, whe east coast video game music and geek culture festival.

I'll have more info closer to the event, but if you are interested I would recommend following them here: http://rockagesj.tumblr.com/

CBS: San Jose Rolls Out Welcome Mat For Bustling Downtown

Last weekend there was a great story on CBS Local about Downtown San Jose. This gist is that Downtown is becoming Silicon Valley's new housing hot spot, with multiple high-rise residential buildings on the way and easy access to amenities, culture, and transit.

The new buildings will be targeting tech workers, with rents in the $3,000/mo range. The story mentions that there are already 90 tech companies in the Downtown core, but avid readers will remember that we now have over 100!

You can find the video and transcript below.

Source: CBS Local

Text from the video:

SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) — The city of San Jose is rolling out the welcome mat for tech workers and businesses to move to the city’s changing downtown.

At a massive new high rise apartment building, workers are laying the groundwork for a new kind of downtown San Jose, one with thousands of new residents who are younger and hipper.

“We’re making San Jose more and more hip every day,” said Mayor-Elect Sam Liccardo. “But it’s not happening from city hall, it’s happening because of the creative people who already live there.”

People like Jeff Michaud, a manager in a Silicon Valley tech company, who just moved here from Austin. “A fair number of my co-workers live in San Francisco and commute down, I’m not a big fan of the commute,” Michaud said.

His new home has gorgeous views with restaurants, shopping, entertainment and mass transit all just steps away.

“There’s a lot to do, especially beneficial when you come home late from work. You don’t feel like cooking, I don’t have to worry about that,” Michaud said.

With three cranes in the air, and at least six more condo and apartment buildings on the way, Downtown San Jose is the new housing hot spot in Silicon Valley.

Even with rents already in the $3,000 a month range, high-tech workers with comfortable paychecks will fill up the buildings fast according to one realtor, causing a welcome economic ripple effect for other businesses.

“The more people you bring, the more that will follow,” said Michael Murphy of Silicon Valley Lofts and Condos. “So we’ll probably see a lot more activity from a retail perspective with those people here.”

Ninety high tech companies are now located in the downtown core, one of them is Xactly. It makes sales-oriented software for companies such as Coca Cola.

CEO Chris Cabrera said the company was lured by the prices. “When we first came to San Jose, it really was because it was the best deal in town. And when we came down here, it really was an unexpected surprise,” he said.

The company is now doubling down on office space, relocating to a bigger building nearby for its growing workforce. “If we try to move, our employees would revolt because they love it,” Cabrera said.

Downtown’s vacancy rate has gone from 29 percent to 18 percent in the last two years. But large holes and empty storefronts remain, including the failed San Jose Repertory Theatre, which is now vacant.

The city is countering with a big marketing push playing up the downtown’s live/work environment.
Lee Wilcox of the San Jose Office of Economic Development said, “The amenities, the talented work force, there are great opportunities for companies to take advantage of what San Jose has to offer.”

And for the first time, San Jose made Forbes list of America’s Coolest Cities. San Jose was 16th on the list, tied for Los Angeles.

Hark Holiday Show at KALEID Gallery

Today there is a holiday art show at KALEID Gallery Downtown (next to Flames). The show runs from 7-11pm and features work from over 60 artists, including one of my personal favorites--guerrilla photographer Josh Marcotte from Lost San Jose. Give the gift of local art this holiday season!

New Costco Officially Coming to South San Jose

Last week developers confirmed that a new Costco would be coming to South San Jose on a 76-acre parcel near the intersection of Highway 85 and Monterey Highway. This will be San Jose's 4th Costco--the other 3 are in Almaden, North San Jose, and off Tully.

The Wholesaler will be part of a project that includes up to 780 residential units, 154,000 SQFT of retail, and 260,000 SQFT of office or R&D.

Given the large number of people that currently live in this part of South San Jose (as well as future residents from all the new development there), this should benefit an area that is under-serviced by retail. I will also mention that this will be the closest San Jose Costco to a Caltrain station, not that I foresee anyone carrying reams of toilet paper on the train.

Source: SVBJ

Wednesday Wishlist: 2024 Bay Area Olympics

San Francisco has officially put in a bid to host the 2024 Summer Olympics  at an estimated budget of $4.5 billion. However, given SF does not have the resources or space to host this alone, the plan includes utilizing facilities all around the Bay Area including Levi's Stadium and Avaya Stadium (the new Earthquakes Stadium). So in a nutshell, SF would take on all of the risk and financial costs while San Jose would benefit from locally hosted events, economic impacts, and having easy access to all Summer Olympic games. It sounds like a win to me, similar to having Levi's stadium in Santa Clara.

What would you guys think about a 2024 Bay Area Olympics?

Source: SVBJ

Voxel Cloud Art Installation Planned For The Pierce!

The Voxel Cloud could easily become the single most impressive art installation in Downtown San Jose. The roof of The Pierce (an apartment building currently under construction in SoFA) will have thousand of LED lights to create a virtual cloud of dynamically changing lights. This is part of the Illuminating Downtown project which will also illuminate two overpasses Downtown, where Highway 87 passes over Santa Clara and San Fernando.

Have a look at the full two minute video below to get an idea of what it will look like. I can't wait to see this in action!

Source: Robertee from the San Jose Development Forum

New Live-Work Project in Downtown San Jose

Barry Swenson Building is finally moving forward on a half-acre parcel that was acquired almost 15 years ago. The empty parking lot at the corner of N. 4th St. and E. Julian St. will be transformed into a modern and unique 13-unit live-work project. These types of projects are very rare in Silicon Valley. The ground floor is setup to accommodate small businesses such as an office or store while the owners of the business would live upstairs. There is also the option to do nothing on the ground floor and live in it as a 3-story townhome.

It's a great concept that I hope we'll see more of in San Jose. In other areas these types of projects have helped transform neighborhoods. With one the highest rates of entrepreneurship in the country, this seems like an ideal time for live-work units in San Jose.

Barry Swenson Builder is going to self-fund the project, which means it can start construction immediately after getting all of the entitlements (targeted for summer).

Source: SVBJ

Searchlight San Jose: Setting Sail on the Mighty Guadalupe

Brown water adventures in San Jose... what?? Searchlight San Jose has discovered that you can do urban kayaking runs up the Guadalupe River! Head over here for all the details and check out the video below of the Stanford Kayak Club pulling off some impressive tricks near 880.

Oh, and while you are at Searchlight San Jose, you might as well "Dress Up Quetzy." Quetzy is the nickname for the statue in the middle of Plaza de Cesar Chavez that looks like a giant turd. Not a bad idea considering that any changes you make can only be an improvement over what it looks like today. This reminds me of the famous Manneken-Pis statue in Brussels that gets dressed up regularly for special events.